political perspectives from Joni Hudson-Reynolds, an African-American Mom

Speaker Boehner told Senator Harry Reid to go “F-himself”… is this any way for a lawmaker to talk?

Fiscal cliff conversations got heated and the Speaker of the House John Boehner told Senate leader Harry Reid to go “f-himself”. Sadly, we hear this word everyday, but should it be used in the hallowed halls of government? Is it ever appropriate to use profanity in the workplace? Share your thoughts.

Comments

Some families have a jar in the kitchen, and anyone who curses has to put a quarter in the jar every time they utter a bad word.

Boehner should have to put $2500 in a jar. Didn’t Reid say “Fuck you” on the floor of the Senate once? Him too. 😉

Now, less I be called a hypocrite, I offer the above suggestion with tongue fully implanted in cheek. Personally, a little profanity is good for the soul (if you believe in souls). It’s a nice, quick, pointed way to get a feeling across without having to come up with the exact words. The recipient knows exactly what you mean (even though in this case Reid pretended he didn’t) and a lot of pent up frustration is released. And really, it’s just a word. “Sticks and stones… etc”. I use it all the time. Some might say it indicates a poor upbringing, or a lousy grasp of the English language, but it’s a word that’s been around for a long time, used by writers and speakers better then me. It serves a function, one usually of emphasis.

There’s a wonderful little book, that I have on my shelf, called “The F Word” (edited by Jesse Sheidlower) that provides examples of the various uses of the word researched back through literature. There’s another, recent, good book titled, appropriately, “Fuck” by Christopher M. Fairman that I got free for my Nook a year or so ago. These two books, along with usage, takes the mystery and the taboo out of the word. But, in hindsight, I think we NEED a taboo word. If we didn’t have that one, we’d invent another.